Eggs, free range, or doesn't it matter?

Free range or otherwise so called ' barn' eggs for us, you would only have to walk through a large battery house once to convince yourself how wrong it is.
 
PapaLazaru said:
Free range organic here from Able & Cole.
The first time I cooked with them I though something was wrong as the yolk was so yellow.

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The problem with lots of food is that colouring is added quite legally, how do you know that the yellow is not enhanced in some way via the food they are given ?
All the Salmon you get that is not wild caught will have colouring added to the food pellets to make it pink or red because just like naturally white Flamingoes it's all down to the shrimp food they eat in the wild that turns them pink
 
I always buy the best quality I can get (for all foods), and don't like anything to do with battery and caged hens.

Nutritionally I would hope/guess that a hen that has roamed around and been fed good quality feed will produce more nutritionally dense eggs than caged hens, however that's just an assumption from my nutrition knowledge and studies.

I think being aware and careful as to where you source your food from is important. Can you afford NOT to buy good quality foods?
 
I do usually try to get as high quality as I can I love eggs and there can be a real difference. I prefer trying to get local ones from nearby farmers but it's sometimes a bit of a chew on as I tend to get through a lot of eggs :p
 
I normally buy Columbian Blacktail Hens from Waitrose because...
these British-reared laying hens thrive on the freedom of their outdoor life and are kept in small flocks on the open pastures of family runs farms.
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which sounds good to me. I see however, that...
Glaucus said:
CLARENCE COURT® OLD COTSWOLD LEGBAR HEN EGGS
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are reduced in price at the moment, so I'll be getting some of these with my next shop :).
 
I'm lucky enough to have eggs brought round from some hens in a friends neighbours garden. They are miles apart from supermarket free range ones. Much nicer. More orange. But I don't think that they have been vaccinated against salmonella like lion mark stamped eggs. Risk/reward :p
 
Freefaller said:
I think being aware and careful as to where you source your food from is important. Can you afford NOT to buy good quality foods?
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The thing is, some people are raised badly - they see food as fuel and nothing more.

I don't know about you but I see food at a great highlight to every day, breakfast is what gets you going, lunch drives you through the afternoon and dinner is like the big mental anchor - the relaxing time to catch up with family and friends. The better the food, the better the effect. Man I love food.
 
My in-laws get free-range eggs from the farm across the road. The yolk is more yellow, they taste much better, although there is usually 1 in every 12 that have gone bad. They aren't cheap either unfortunately. We still have a lot of 'hedge veg' or honesty boxes around the Island an people have started to sell eggs as free range when they are the 24 for £2 from Iceland... they are cr@p.

We get ours from Waitrose and although we pay a little more than Co-op they are really nice and large.
 
Glaucus said:
Get out of Tesco as they don't stock any even half reasonable eggs and get your hands on CLARENCE COURT® OLD COTSWOLD LEGBAR HEN EGGS

Better eggs than anything else, my sister has chickens and these are better. Wonder if the unusual breed has anything to do with it.
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I'm a fan of the Clarence court burford browns myself. Really tasty eggs.
 
I like the taste of fear and entrapment in my eggs so battery farmed all the way.

I go for large free range usually, often "Happy Eggs" as I'm a sucker for advertising.
 
pitchfork said:
The thing is, some people are raised badly - they see food as fuel and nothing more.

I don't know about you but I see food at a great highlight to every day, breakfast is what gets you going, lunch drives you through the afternoon and dinner is like the big mental anchor - the relaxing time to catch up with family and friends. The better the food, the better the effect. Man I love food.
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Couldn't agree with you more. I'm interested in food possibly owing to my French upbringing, but also because I studied nutrition and enjoy the gym and so on and being healthy. However, like you, I look forward to food and enjoy making a "meal" of it, as well as using it to socialise, unwind, relax but also enjoy the flavours and its creation.

I just enjoy food, it's something that makes me feel happy - but it has to be good, I get no enjoyment out of a packet of crisps however.
 
My father in law is a free range egg farmer (small scale, circa 15,000 hens) , so I get mine from him. They're great. Colombian Blacktail chickens (approx half of his eggs go to Waitrose)

Whilst I would never buy battery eggs (it's really, really horrible), it's surprising how often most of the chickens will opt not to go outside - when it's raining, for example (so almost all winter this year). They do have a fair bit more space in the barn than more intensively reared hens, though.
 
I go for local eggs personally, which are free range by default really. My Asda has staveleys of Coppell eggs which come in very large which is also important for me.

The price difference is negligible so you might aswell.
 
Usher said:
The problem with lots of food is that colouring is added quite legally, how do you know that the yellow is not enhanced in some way via the food they are given ?
All the Salmon you get that is not wild caught will have colouring added to the food pellets to make it pink or red because just like naturally white Flamingoes it's all down to the shrimp food they eat in the wild that turns them pink
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I was thinking of this. Ever seen a corn fed chicken, bright yellow and tastes great sp doesn't have to be artificial. I'm sure eggs from corn fed chicks are very yellow. Also different breeds etc.
 
D.P. said:
I was thinking of this. Ever seen a corn fed chicken, bright yellow and tastes great sp doesn't have to be artificial. I'm sure eggs from corn fed chicks are very yellow. Also different breeds etc.
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It's the amount of beta-carotene in their diet which darkens the pigmentation of the yolk, so feeding chickens corn wouldn't do a thing. They need a varied diet with lots of insects, dark greens and whatever else they can forage for.

And on a related note, corn-fed chicken is both a complete waste of money and a marketing gimmick. It's complete style over substance for the most part and conjures up images of free-roaming birds feasting on corn when in effect it's mainly intensively-reared broiler chickens who have had a little maize added to their usual diet of protein-enriched feed.

Slow-maturing, free-range birds that have unrestricted access to pasture should be the order of the day for everyone - you'll get better quality eggs with richer yolks and tastier meat with less fat content, more Omega fatty acids, etc.
 
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